Having read the report on Harvard University and the Legacy of Slavery , I wanted to read the work of a graduate of Harvard who knew firsthand the racism prevalent at the University - W. E. B. Du Bois.
For this, I choose Du Bois' 1903 collection of essays, The Souls of Black Folk . I realize that this particular book is read by students of Black History, but like most white Americans, I was not introduced to this brilliant man and his work while I was in school. I knew his name, but little else.
I'm reminded of a quote of George Santayana often thrown about by folks upset over the removal of Confederate monuments and memorials a few years ago :
"Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it" .
These people would do well to follow their own advice by reading The Souls of Black Folk.
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